In this chapter, we are going to expand our repertoire of strategies to calm your body and reduce stress. The focus here will be on the role of exercise, diet, and exposure to bright light (which is a surprisingly robust way to alter brain chemistry).

Among all self-help approaches, exercise is one of the most potent approaches to reducing nervousness, irritability, moodiness, and depression. Although it’s a real challenge for many people to start and maintain exercise, the benefits are substantial.

Anthropologists have determined that early humans, surviving by hunting and gathering, had to be moderately physically active for about two or three hours per day. This was true for the earliest humans; it persisted for five million years, and has changed only in very recent times. Especially during the past century, Americans have become increasingly sedentary.

Movement directly changes brain functioning by increasing levels of neurotransmitters that regulate moods such as serotonin (90 minutes of exercise doubles the amount of serotonin in the brain). Increased levels of brain serotonin reduce anxiety, irritability, and depression. Exercise also activates the release of morphine-like chemicals in the brain, endorphins. These brain molecules produce a calming effect.

In addition to direct mood-enhancing effects, exercise has been shown to significantly affect one’s perspective. Southern California psychologist, Dr. Robert Thayer, has conducted research that demonstrates that high levels of physical tension combined with low levels of energy result in a noticeable increase in negative and pessimistic thinking.

During high-tension/low-energy times of the day, people are much more likely to view current life problems from an especially negative point of view. They are more prone to feel helpless and pessimistic about relationship problems, financial worries, or any number of other distressing life occurrences.

Interestingly, Dr. Thayer has been able to show that decreasing physical-tension levels (exercise in general may do this, but especially helpful are stretching exercises or yoga), and increasing energy quickly shifts thinking from negative to more positive and optimistic. Increasing energy can be achieved by consuming caffeine, but as we have seen in previous chapters, this is not generally a wise choice to make. What works well, and has few if any side effects, is exercise.

An important point to make is that getting control over negative thinking need not involve prolonged or strenuous exercise. Even 2 minutes of stretching and a 10- to 15-minute brisk walk will often do the trick.

This level and duration of exercise is something realistic that many people are, in fact, able to do. It’s not like the prolonged commitment of preparing for the Olympics or the more time-consuming exercise that is a part of an athlete’s life.

This form of exercise is a “quick fix”; it works rapidly, doesn’t take a lot of time, and the results last about an hour to an hour and a half. Once people try this and find out how easy and effective it can be, it can easily be woven into the fabric of everyday life. It is an especially good technique to use strategically during times of the day when you feel exhausted or when you notice that you are worrying or brooding. Try it out twice and see what you think!

Researchers have taken lab rats and corporate executives as subjects to test the impact of exercise on stress reactions (presumably no connection between the rats and the CEOs … well, maybe not). They hooked them up to devices that measure heart rate, blood pressure, and other physical aspects of anxiety and set off a loud “bang.” All subjects have an immediate startle reaction; the significance was in measuring the intensity of the reaction and how long it took both people and rats to calm down.

Then they had both groups of subjects exercise daily for 4 months (the rats were made to exercise on a treadmill device where they had to walk for 20 minutes a day). Four months later they repeated the experiment. The loud “bang” still produced an immediate startle reaction. But the increase in physical arousal (e.g. blood pressure) was a lot less. Also, both groups calmed down more quickly. Psychologists referred to this as emotional recovery, how long it takes to regain composure.

The exercise “therapy” had a direct impact on the brain, resulting in much-less-intense reactivity. Certainly not a quick fix, but a rather dramatic testimony to the benefits of exercise and how it helps people cope more effectively.

Brains can be damaged over a period of time due to the effects of aging, drug overuse or abuse, and exposure to severe chronic stress. Yet the nervous system has an exceptional ability to repair itself. In certain nerve cells, a protein is made and secreted: brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF, for short). This protein helps to repair damaged nerve cells, and in one part of the brain it helps to activate a process called neurogenesis. Neurogenesis is the birth of new nerve cells (prior to 2001, this was a fact unknown to neuroscientists).

Guess what? Three things are potent activators of this protein, BDNF. Two are psychiatric medications: lithium and antidepressants. The third is, as you may have guessed, exercise. Exercise can actually help your brain maintain and repair itself. BDNF turns on neurogenesis in a part of the brain, the hippocampus, which is an important brain structure that helps to control strong emotions.

In a review of recent research on the impact of exercise on moodiness and depression, Professor Larry Leith found that 80 percent of studies report significant reductions in depression occurring just a few weeks after beginning a program of regular exercise. Some studies have compared the effect of exercise to treatment outcomes with prescription antidepressant medications. The results are that regular exercise can reduce depression symptoms just as effectively as antidepressants.

This varies from study to study. Probably the best approach is 10 minutes of brisk walking, jogging, or running, twice a day, every day. Other studies recommend 20 to 30 minutes, three or four times per week. The remarkable finding is that the intensity of exercise need not be unrealistically high. People can simply exercise in keeping with their level of fitness (e.g. those who are not too fit can walk; those very fit can run or swim vigorously). The key is, however, to have it be aerobic exercise (getting you to breathe more rapidly and increasing the heart rate).

More intense exercise may be required for maximizing cardio-vascular health. But these smaller “doses” of exercise are generally effective for improving mood.

Exercise may be the single-most potent strategy for defeating the biological aspects of stress, anxiety, and depression. But let’s be honest—it can be very difficult to get motivated to go and exercise. In my experience, one viable approach to this problem is to hire a trainer at a sports club or enlist a “buddy” to join you, to encourage you, and to insist that you follow through.

If you can start a program of regular exercise and stick with it, the benefits can be enormous. You’ll not only reduce your stress, but also will improve your overall health, enhance the quality of your sleep, and increase your feelings of self-esteem.

Repetitive movements have also been shown to reduce stress. These include some forms of exercise, like walking. But it also includes rhythmic and repetitive motions such as rocking in a rocking chair, knitting, chewing gum, and even bouncing your leg up and down—over and over again. This last approach may be seen as an annoying, nervous habit, but guess what? Like other repetitive movements, it increases brain serotonin levels and provides some calming effects.

Brain chemistry depends, in part, on the availability of certain essential amino acids. These molecules, which must be derived from your diet, are the building blocks of key brain chemicals (such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine). A substantial body of research has supported the fact that many people suffering from depression and chronic stress have diminished levels of one or more of these important brain chemicals.

A normal, reasonably healthy diet generally supplies adequate amino acids for the body, although these molecules (owing to their size and chemical properties) only cross into the brain in fairly small amounts. The primary strategy in using dietary approaches to treating negative moods is to increase the amount and availability of selected amino acids in the brain. When they are available in adequate amounts in the brain, they are taken into nerve cells and transformed into mood-regulating neurotransmitters.

You may find that specific dietary approaches may make a noticeable change in your mood. The two target symptoms for dietary “treatment” are the following:

Before getting to specifics, I’d like to point out some limitations to dietary strategies. First, not everyone responds. For some people, the effects are substantial and ultimately very helpful. But for others, there may be no noticeable effects. People vary a lot in terms of their individual biology and metabolism. There is simply no way to know ahead of time if this will be effective for you. But it’s a simple experiment to conduct, and if the approaches work, you should feel the difference right away.

Limitation number two is that these approaches are “quick fixes.” They are not the cure for significant mood problems, although they can be successfully used on a day-to-day basis to have some control over those especially stressful times of the day. Being able to do something, to take action, and feel a positive result cannot only change one’s mood but can also feel empowering.

As we have seen previously, one of the most important brain chemicals for regulating mood is serotonin. With increases in serotonin, nervousness, irritability, and anxiety often diminish. The amino-acid building block for serotonin is tryptophan. Generally a normal diet provides adequate amounts of tryptophan to the blood stream. The trick is getting it into the brain (tryptophan is a large molecule that has some difficulty passing through the blood-brain barrier and into the brain).

One way to facilitate the entry of tryptophan into the brain is to increase the amount of insulin in the blood stream. With increased insulin, a window opens into the blood-brain barrier, and tryptophan can more easily enter. An effective way to increase insulin is to eat carbohydrates. For this to work, the snack or meal should ideally include low-glucose carbohydrates such as beans, some grains and whole-grain breads, peaches, apples, bran, pears, cherries, grapes, plums, and oranges. Low-glucose carbohydrates more slowly increase the amount of glucose (sugar) levels to enter the blood stream.

Simple carbohydrates like sugars and some starches (high-glucose carbohydrates) can produce a very temporary improvement in mood (one reason that people often choose such snacks). But this is often followed by a “sugar crash,” causing an intensification of anxiety and sometimes depression (plus, of course, lots of calories and weight gain). A sugar crash can leave people feeling like they are on an emotional roller coaster. Thus avoid the following: donuts, french fries, candy, and (unfortunately) chocolate (I hate having to deliver that bit of bad news). One exception is if you eat simple carbohydrates and immediately follow it with vigorous exercise, then it will not result in the sugar crash.

The brain chemicals that increase energy, motivation, and mental alertness are dopamine and norepinephrine. Both require the amino acid tyrosine as a building block.

Proteins are made up of long chains of amino acids, including tyrosine. Protein snacks have been used for a number of years by the armed forces as a way for pilots to maintain energy and alertness. However, for this strategy to work, the protein snack needs to be eaten alone or with only a very small amount of carbohydrates (if proteins are eaten along with substantial amounts of carbohydrates, the energizing effect is lost). The best proteins include protein powder, tofu, eggs, fish, chicken, turkey, Gouda cheese, Monterey jack cheese, nonfat cottage cheese, buttermilk, and lean beef.

Here’s a reminder: be careful not to eat protein snacks too close to bedtime, as the increased energy and alertness can, at times, interfere with sleep.

One dietary option currently holds promise for providing more long-term effects on mood: omega-3 fatty acids. The main dietary source for omega-3 fatty acids is fish. Fish-oil capsules can also be purchased as an over-the-counter product at health-food stores. Preliminary studies have suggested a lower incidence of mood disorders in cultures that have omega-3 fatty acids as a regular part of their diets.

Some promising studies at the National Institute of Health tend to support the finding that treatment with supplemental dietary omega-3 fatty acids can reduce negative mood swings in people who are depressed or suffer from bipolar disorder. A few studies have shown that omega-3 fatty acids also can reduce moodiness in people who do not suffer from these more severe disorders. Omega-3 is a critical ingredient in nerve-cell membranes, and a diet including this fatty acid may actually help repair or build healthy brain cells.

The most effective approach to the use of omega-e fatty acids is to take 1 to 2 grams per day. It is also very helpful to, at the same time, reduce intake of omega-6 fatty acids. The balance of these two fatty acids is important in the brain. The main source of omega-6 fatty acids is from animal tissue (meat and lard, which, unfortunately, is used in many junk foods).

This dietary approach does not produce a rapid change in mood, but rather is usually successful after several weeks to several months of the new diet. The best sources of omega-3 fatty acids are fish and fish oil. Flaxseed oil may also be helpful in stabilizing mood.

Fatigue associated with chronic stress, moodiness, and depression can be overpowering. It’s unpleasant, it interferes with work and school, and it contributes to withdrawal and emotional paralysis. I’d like to offer an “energize-yourself” checklist (strategies aimed at restoring energy and combating fatigue).

Upon awakening:

During the day:

In the evening:

What can you expect from the strategies mentioned here? Noticable increase in day time energy, more productivity, an increased sense of motivation to complete tasks and less moodiness. These strategies are a recipe for a productive day.

All animals studied, from snails to humans, have shown that certain environmental stimuli can have a powerful influence on internal biological processes, affecting hormone levels, body temperature, sleep cycles, activity levels, and brain chemistry. Most anthropologists agree that the human race first emerged in equatorial Africa some 5 to 6 million years ago. For hundreds of thousands of years, primitive humans lived and evolved in this ecological niche that is characterized by 12 hours of sunlight, 365 days per year—no seasonal variations in the amount of daily sunlight. Across eons, all species must biologically adapt to local environmental conditions to survive, and this undoubtedly occurred for our ancient ancestors.

There is a growing body of research suggesting that bright-light stimulation does have a significant impact on the functioning of the human brain (our brains likely evolved over the millennia accustomed to getting 12 hours per day of such stimulation). And it appears that maintaining normal levels of brain chemicals, such as serotonin, has come to rely, in part, on getting a certain amount of bright-light stimulation each day.

Most of us, these days, are exposed to substantially less than 12 hours a day of bright light. For 20 percent of the population, reduced light exposure creates low energy and mild mood changes, such as low motivation and irritability. For others (about 10 percent of the population), it can provoke serious depression, commonly referred to as seasonal affective disorder. Decreased exposure to bright light can also provoke episodes of depression in people suffering from bipolar disorders. As the name of the disorder implies, this depression is often associated with the decreased light exposure seen during winter months. However, it’s also commonly seen in people who routinely work night shifts.

Light therapy may be the solution. The key to successful light therapy has nothing to do with light hitting the skin, but actually with light entering the eye. Light energy entering the eye and striking the retina activates a nerve pathway that penetrates deep into the brain. It is here that the stimulation influences levels of neurotransmitters, especially serotonin. The amount of light entering the eye matters: it must be at least 2500 lux of light energy. Regular indoor lighting may be able to produce 400-500 lux. Thus ordinary lighting will not do the trick.

Bright-light exposure can be accomplished by two means. One is by purchasing and using a commercially available “light box.” Light boxes emit about 10,000 lux of light energy. The second approach is by getting exposure to sunlight by going outdoors. Even on a cloudy day there is enough bright light to stimulate the brain (10,000 lux on a cloudy day; 100,000 lux on a sunny day).

How much exposure is required? The length of exposure varies tremendously from one individual to another. For some people, as little as 10 minutes per day is all that is needed. Others may require up to two hours. Probably a half-hour is the average.

If you’ve considered using a light box, you’ll need to place it in a convenient spot, such as on your desk. For adequate amounts of light to stimulate the retina, you must sit within 2½ feet of the light source. Those who use light boxes do not stare directly into the light. Rather, they sit in front of the light and often read, pay bills, or make phone calls.

If you prefer to try out natural sunlight, be sure to use sunscreen to avoid excessive UV-ray exposure, and go outside (bright sunlight and a 15-minute walk are a good combination). Remember, all that is required is light entering the eyes. So leave the sunglasses off!

Bright-light exposure can have other benefits as well. First thing in the morning, bright-light exposure can help you feel more energized. It may also help to normalize sleep patterns and stabilize your circadian rhythm. Early-morning light exposure is especially helpful if it is combined with exercise (for example, taking a short walk outdoors).

One additional note of caution is this: bright-light exposure may not be safe for individuals with certain eye disorders. (If you suffer from any diseases of the eye, please consult with your eye doctor before using light therapy.)

The Least You Need to Know